Place: Jester on Yonge
2015-06-28. Stopped in on a rainy Sunday afternoon for lunch. Tap list was decent but a couple of my first choices were sold out. My pint of Red Racer IPA seemed a bit meh, not sure if the fault for that lies with the brewery or the bar. Waitress was fine, had to ask the bartender for the answers to my beer related questions. (e.g. The "India White" on the menu was made by Spearhead) Food was okay. I got a fish Po Boy which was decent but pretty bland, could have used some more seasoning or condiments. I forget what Mabel had but it was also just okay. Bar is long and skinny, big TVs over the bar and the front half. Back half seems quieter. Overall it has a decent selection of Ontario craft beer and I’d pop in again if I was in the neighbourhood but probably not make a special trip again.

Popped in after a day of meetings close by. A fairly typical long room with the bar along one side up front and a larger seating area toward the back of the room. Beer list is dominated by the typical imports (Paulaner, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Old Speckled Hen, etc). Friendly staff and fairly efficient service when we were in, but almost no Ontario representation and no seasonals either. Worth stopping in if you’re in the area, but you can do better.

Perhaps I’m being a tad generous in the score after only one visit, but it was a very good visit! Stopped in on October 1, 2011 with friends from Chicago, and was impressed by the menu. We split a big plate of nachos in our mid-afternoon visit. Granted not the best time to visit or rate a pub, but the friendly service and ambience was top-notch nonetheless. Their website claims to offer 27 taps, and although I didn’t count, I did get as far (and then STOP!) at Paulaner lager. It was brilliantly, bubbly fresh, and absolutely no worse than a Maß from the Paulaner patio at Munich’s Englischer Garten. The beer menu reminds me of the one at downtown’s Village Idiot pub, as it’s the same sort of double-sided thing with the brewery logos, leading me to wonder if there is a connection between the Jester and the Idiot. I’d love to return. Very Highly Recommended.